


Omnics Cannot Cry

by InkFlavored



Series: Zenyatta Appreciation Week 2018 [4]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Sad, do not read if you dont like zenyatta being sad all the time, robots having emotions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 12:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14057331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkFlavored/pseuds/InkFlavored
Summary: Zenyatta Appreciation Week (Day 4: Emotion/Reaction)There are many things omnics can do. Cry is not one of them. While many would consider this a good thing, there are some who disagree.





	Omnics Cannot Cry

**Author's Note:**

> this one's a little shorter than the other ones, but i feel like if i made it longer, it would ruin the message. enjoy!

They simply aren’t built for such things. They have no tear ducts, and internal water would be severely damaging, no matter how waterproof a machine is built to be. That isn’t to say they don’t have emotions, of course. Just that their ways of expressing them are limited.

There are times when Zenyatta wishes he could cry.

There are times when he wishes he could cry until he has no more water left in his body. Times when he wants to sob until his throat becomes raw. Times where he wants to wail, bawl, and weep until he runs out of energy to do anything else. But omnics cannot cry.

Some omnics find ways around this limited range of physical emotion by hibernating for extended periods. Others express sadness in very human ways – throwing themselves into work or ignoring friends and family. But regardless of this, many omnics keep their feelings bottled up, in a society that deems they have none – “aren’t supposed to.” In the eyes of many humans, omnics are robots. They are nothing more than a means to an end. They do not feel, they exist only to serve.

Zenyatta wonders if that would change if omnics could cry.

Would human displays of emotion endear more humans to see omnics as people, rather than metallic slaves? Would the human phenomenon of tears manifesting in omnics suddenly call into question how they have been treated for decades? If omnics could cry, display their emotions plainly, physically, would they even need an Omnic Rights movement at all?

Omnics are unable to express physical emotion in other ways as well. They cannot express anger with a reddened face, or blush in embarrassment, they cannot smile when elated, or grit their teeth in frustration. They cannot frown in disappointment, they cannot blink in surprise, or wink in flirtatious situations. There are many things omnics cannot do.

Still, Zenyatta wonders about crying.

If an omnic could smile, that may not be as important as crying. Many things _look_ like they smile – humans make games out of it – but it doesn’t make them any more or less human. On the contrary, things that smile all the time look _less_ human. Things that _cry_ , like dogs, are immediately sympathetic. Things that express physical emotion in sadness are cornerstones of human life. And crying can be used for so many other emotions – happiness, anger, frustration, surprise, fear. Crying is a cornerstone of human life.

But regardless of humans, Zenyatta wishes, selfishly, that he could cry. He wishes he could cry for all the times he couldn’t.

He wishes he could’ve cried during the Omnic Crisis, when omnic and human alike were being slaughtered by the masses. He wishes he could’ve cried when it was over, wandering, helpless, in an empty warzone, terrified and with no where to go.

He wishes he could have cried when he came across Mondatta, tears of joy for finally meeting someone that wouldn’t chase him away. He wishes he could have cried when he chose to call himself Zenyatta, for finally knowing who he is.

He wishes he could have cried when the Shambali Temple was finally completed, all the hard work done, and a gateway to their dreams. He wishes he could have cried when the Shambali had their first peace talk – that actually ended _peacefully_. Tears of relief, and hope that they might actually be catalysts for omnic rights.

He wishes he could have cried the night Mondatta was shot.

He wishes he could have cried in front of the television, watching his leader, his brother, his _friend_ , get shot before his very eyes. He wishes he could have cried for hours, cried because the leader of the Shambali was no more. Cried for the loss of a friend, and a mentor.

He wishes he could have cried at the funeral. Humans and omnics alike, dressed all in black, solemnly watching a coffin being lowered into a grave. People gave their eulogies, and human sniffled, tears running down their faces. He wishes he could cry like that. He wishes he could display emotion so easily, so fervently, so recklessly.

But omnics cannot cry.


End file.
